Memories in Death
by strange-inclinations
Summary: Despite the title, this is a romance. In sixth year at Hogwarts Minerva McGonnagal and Albus Dumbledore have fallen madly in love. What can go wrong with a love that first blossomed in first year? Hope you enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

Staring blankly, Minerva McGonagall was lost in thought, her green eyes to the brim with tears that would soon well over. Minerva had to close her eyes. She was too close to breaking down and sobbing hysterically.

Closing her eyes only made it worse. She was back in her first year of Hogwarts about to be sorted when she turned her head, she noticed a boy who looked just as frightened as her. She inched her way over to him and introduced herself.

"Hello, I'm Minerva. What's your name?"

The boy turned to her and smiled despite his anxiousness. He had bright blue eyes and a crooked nose.

"Hello Minerva, my name is Albus. Albus Dumbledore. Which house do you want to be in?"

"Well, I haven't really thought about it. I don't think I would enjoy being in Slytherin very much. What about you?"

He didn't get the chance to answer because one of the professors started talking.

"When you hear your name you will come to the front of the Hall and put on the Sorting Hat. The Sorting Hat will tell you which house you will be in. Your housemates will be your temporary family while you are at Hogwarts. While here, you can earn your house points for good deeds while any rule breaking will lose your house points. If we're ready, we will begin."

Minerva looked at Albus and he smiled at her instantly calming her nerves.

The first person called up to the Sorting Hat was "Arthhi, Lucia" who was sorted into Slytherin.

There were a few other students called before the teacher yelled "Dumbledore, Albus!" and he walked to the Sorting Hat.

A few moments later the Sorting Hat yelled "GRYFFINDOR!" and the table burst into raucous applause. He smiled back at Minerva who felt a bit more nervous.

It seemed like hours later before Minerva was called up to the Sorting Hat.

Minerva walked up to the stool her heart going a thousand miles a minute she was so preoccupied that she almost tripped over her robes. Finally reaching the stool, she sat down. The teacher put the hat on her head and like so many others it fell over her eyes.

A moment later she heard a voice in her head. "Well, well what a brave witch we have here. Also you seem to be very bright and loyal. Hmmm. I suppose it'll have to be… "GRYFFINDOR!"

Feeling a sense of relief, Minerva slid off the stool and went over to join Albus at the Gryffindor table.

After the remaining students had been placed in their houses, Headmaster Dippet quieted them down.

"Welcome to Hogwarts!" he spoke smiling into the crowd of students. "If this is your first year at Hogwarts, I'd like to start with a few rules. First off, The Forbidden Forest is, well, forbidden. Unless you have a death wish, that is. Also, I'd like to take this time to welcome the newest professor, Professor Hollow."

A tall, thing, young woman stood up, smiled and slightly bowed her head. Her orange ringlets bobbed as she acknowledged the crowd.

"Professor Hollow will be teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts this year. I don't believe there is anything else to say, so with all that said, let the feast begin!"

Headmaster Dippet waved his hand and the tables filled with food. There was anything from beef to and unidentified meat that tasted like cherries. After filling their plates, Minerva and Albus started talking again.

"This is so peculiar." Minerva found herself saying talking to Albus.

"It is. On the train, did you try Bernie Bott's Every Flavor Beans? I ate an ear- wax flavored one thinking it was toffee. Nasty shock I got."


	2. Chapter 2

Memories Chapter 2- 6th year

"Albus! Wait up!" Minerva called running to catch up and get to the Astronomy Tower.

She saw that he turned and smiled. His blue eyes seemed to reflect the light from the stars up above.

She could also see her reflection in his eyes. She was thin and had dark brunette hair that was almost black. Her green eyes shined with intelligence and she was at the top of her class.

"Minerva, don't worry we won't be late. We're almost there for heaven's sake!" laughing they stepped onto the astronomy balcony where they had a good view of the sky. They were the first ones there.

The night was a cool spring one that calmed the nerves of both tense students.

"It's a glorious night isn't it Minerva?" Albus chuckled

"It's wonderful. You can see all the stars. I've always loved Orion. It's my favorite constellation. I just love seeing the stars that make it up." She placed her hand on the railing and on top of Albus' without noticing his hand was there.

She pulled her hand away but Albus quickly grabbed her hand and held it.

"Your hands are cold," he smiled and blushed. "Are you nervous?"

Before she could answer Professor Maritime, the astronomy teacher came up the curved steps.

"Hello, Minerva. Albus." She smiled and walked past them to set up her displays and map of the stars.

When Maritime had come up, Albus and Minerva had quickly separated their hands and both turned a violent shade of maroon.

They didn't have the chance to talk and they both seemed very fascinated by their maps and their diagrams of the stars.

When it was time to leave, Minerva dropped her telescope and her maps scattered everywhere. She and Albus were the only ones still up on the landing because Professor Maritime knew they were trustworthy.

"Albus I th-th-think we need t-to talk." Minerva stuttered feeling nauseous because of how nervous she was.

Albus only smiled knowing that they would have time to talk on their way to the Gryffindor common room.

"Why did you grab my hand Albus? I thought…I thought that we didn't date because we didn't want to ruin our friendship. I thought-," she was silenced as Albus took her hand again and leaned in towards her.

Without thinking, Minerva jumped on the spot and quickly got to her feet.

"I'm truly sorry Albus, but I-I-I can't. Not now." She took her bags and hiding her face ran from the landing.

Albus had told her later that he had stayed up on the landing staring at Orion and feeling very down-trod shed a tear or two.

Minerva walked down the circular stairs, head spinning as she tried to understand what had just happened.

She felt guilty because she and her previous boyfriend, Alec Fairfield, had just broken up and she would feel guilty if she and Albus started dating. That, paired with the fact that her father had just passed away, left her feeling distraught and her emotions and energy was running thin.

The corridors at night were frightening and Minerva knew that it wasn't very wise because of the patrolling ghosts and teachers that would be sure that you were punished. Minerva knew that she should go straight to the common room, but she stopped in the hall and sat on a window ledge that over looked the ground. She started crying.

She had fallen asleep there because she woke up the next morning as the sun rose to the face of her Transfiguration teacher and Head of Gryffindor house Professor Tarrows. His yellowish eyes stared her confusion clearly lining his older face as he stared at one of his smartest students sleeping on a window ledge.

"Miss McGonagall, are you alright? What on earth are you doing sleeping on a windowsill?"

"Professor Tarrows, I-um-I was coming down from the Astronomy Tower and I-well-I was looking at the stars and thinking. This window has an amazing view of the grounds and I-I must've fallen asleep while looking at the stars. Am I going to be in trouble?"

"Fortunately for you, I trust that your story is true and I would like to express that you should not have stopped to look at the stars and should have gone directly to your common room. If I see that you have fallen asleep in anymore windowsills, I'll have to at least deduct 5 points from Gryffindor," he smiled at her and continued. "You are very smart witch Miss McGonagall. Head up to your common room and get ready for the day."

She got up from the windowsill, shoulder sore from sleeping on it incorrectly and hugged Professor Tarrows around the middle.

"Thank you, Professor! I promise I won't do it again! Goodbye! See you in class later!" and with that, she ran off to go prepare herself.

Arriving in the common room she quickly ran up the stairs into her room, which she shared with 4 other girls and quickly changed into cleaner robes. She quietly walked into the lavatory and fixed her hair that had become a giant tangle during the night. She brushed her teeth and then headed back into the common room.

She was hoping that there wouldn't be very many people awake yet and her wish was granted when she went back to the common room. There were only a few people who weren't fully awake yet.

Choosing a chair by the fireplace, she sat and took out her Transfiguration homework that was due the following week and quickly worked.

She was already a week or so ahead of the class and she asked her Professors for the work that the class would be getting a few days later. She was writing on Animagi when she heard someone cough quietly near her.

Lifting her head she saw that Albus was sitting in the chair directly next to hers, his electric blue eyes pleading for forgiveness.

"Minerva, I'm so sorry. I know that you and Alex just broke up and about your father. I'm so sorry that I tried to rush you. I was wrong and I beg your forgiveness. You're my best friend. Without you, I would get lost and be late. You're the glue that's keeping me stable. I'm sorry."

She smirked at him "I know you are. I just need some time to grieve for my father and get over Alex. I do love you though."

At that precise moment, the Head of Gryffindor house, Professor Tarrows opened the portrait hole and walked into the room. He usually never came into the common room unless something terrible had happened.

"I need you all to go wake up the rest of the house. I have an announcement." He announced very suddenly.

Many of the students hadn't noticed Professor Tarrows come into the room and they jumped when he addressed the room.

"What's happened, professor?" A seventh year student asked as he got up to go wake up the dormitory.

Minerva and Albus ran up the stairs and woke up their rooms telling them to dress immediately and meet in the common room.

They both met up in the common room again and looked at each other. They both knew something terrible had happened.


	3. Chapter 3

Memories Chp. 3

Professor Tarrows had bad news for them. Minerva just knew it. It was clearly defined on his face and he spoke like there was bad news for them all.

Hoping for the best, though expecting the worst, she and Albus found a seat close to the Professor and waited for the rest of the Gryffindors to wake up.

It took almost a half hour for all of the students to roll out of bed and get themselves presentable and when they were all ready Professor Tarrows looked at them with a look that clearly stated something bad had happened.

"Good morning, Gryffindor," He spoke in a quiet though commanding voice that was greeted by several tired hello's back. "You know I wouldn't come and wake you all up on a Saturday if it wasn't important. I have some…news to give from Headmaster Dippet himself. I am sorry to say that one among us has died."

Instantly all the Gryffindors started looking around counting their friends worriedly, trying to see if they could figure out who was missing.

A fifth year girl shouted, "Where's Juniper Skye? I can't find her?" Juniper stood up beside her and smacked her on the back of her head because she had been right next to her.

"Don't worry," Professor Tarrows began again. "It was not a student that was killed. It was a teacher. Professor Chrysanthemum, the Herbology teacher. She was murdered. We don't know who murdered her yet, so we are putting these following rules into effect immediately as a precaution."

From his cloak he pulled out a roll of parchment and read from it:

All students are to be back into the common room by 7 o'clock. If they are not, they will receive severe punishment.

All students will walk in pairs or groups throughout the corridors. You will be able to choose your partner(s) and when you have decided, you will tell the Head of your house.

If you know anything about the deaths or the killer, you must tell one of the professors immediately so that they can be caught and dealt with.

If a student is caught aiding this criminal, the student will be immediately expelled from Hogwarts.

If you are found to be walking the corridors alone, you will be given a weeks detention.

"Professor," piped up a small second year boy who looked rather frightened and concerned. "How did the professor die?"

The common room filled with the same questions: How did she die? What spell did they use? Do we still have classes today? Professor Tarrows silenced the room again and in the newly born silence said only one thing.

"The murderer used the killing curse. They also left a note. I have a copy."

The forlorn professor pulled out a piece of parchment that looked a little odd and read from it.

Dear Hogwarts Professors and Headmaster,

I have murdered one of your teachers. If you don not want this to occur again, then you will give me what I want. I wish for one thing and one thing only. I wish for the resurrection stone. One of your students has it and is hiding it for themselves. If I do not get the stone by November, I will kill again. To get the stone to me, just go to the top of the Astronomy tower at twilight. I will be there to collect.

Sincerely,

O.R.

The students were scared out of their wits because that meant that they only had two months to find the student that had the stone and force them to give the stone to the killer. Whoever this O.R. was they really wanted this resurrection stone whatever that was.

Minerva and Albus traded glances knowing that they would be a pair that went through the corridors together and they also knew that because of the circumstances they would be spending lots of time together.

Professors reminded them again to abide by the rules and left the common room. The common room was suddenly loud from all the talking and the students were organizing themselves into pairs or small groups.

Minerva and Albus quickly found a corner of the room where they wouldn't be overheard and started thinking about who could have the stone.

They brought up a few names, each one as unlikely as the next. They thought of Lucia Arthhi and Albert Rosier both from Slytherin but they seemed unlikely. Next they thought about Tyler Tresior and Alexandra Clearwater from Ravenclaw but that was unlikely too. Neither Albus nor Minerva could see anyone from Hufflepuff having the stone because they would be so loyal to the teachers and to Hogwarts that they wouldn't really do anything like that.

"Albus," whispered Minerva so they wouldn't be heard, "what if the student was a Gryffindor. What if the person with the stone is in this room?"

"As improbable as that seems, Minerva, you may just be right. I'd thought of that myself but I can't think of anyone that would have the stone. Maybe we should snoop around."

The rest of the day, Minerva and Albus watched around the common room for any suspicious acting students though none openly showed any nervous feelings.

Albus and Minerva spent the next few weeks watching the students from different houses. None looked like they were hiding anything though. They did find out a lot more about their teachers that they would've wanted though when they caught Professor Tarrows and Professor Hollow snogging in the corridor when they thought they were alone.

"Ick. She's half his age!" Minerva whispered to Albus as they backed away from the snogging couple trying to stay unseen.

Albus only smiled at her and they walked back up to the common room. The next day was Saturday, October 30th. They only had two days left to locate the stone.

The entire school started to get nervous and looked worried. Who would be next?

The teachers could be seen walking in pairs now hoping that they would be safe from attack if they had someone with them. The only thing they had to look forward to was the Halloween feast. It was the most fun feast of the year.

Floating jack-o-lanterns adorned the space between the tables and the ceiling and there were flying bats that would turn into canaries if you tried to catch them.

With this feast coming up, every one eased up a bit and relaxed. Hoping that whoever wanted the stone had forgotten all about it and would leave them alone.

The Halloween feast seemed to be so happy and nobody seemed to be the tiniest bit worried.

When the feast was about half way done, all the lights in the Great Hall suddenly went out leaving the room pitch black except for the moon and the stars up above. Nervous whispers quickly spread like weeds throughout the room, they were silenced when someone screamed and the lights suddenly came back on.

Laying at the front of the room, new blood soaking her robes was Juniper Skye from Gryffindor. She was alive but just barely.

The nurse quickly ran down from the front table and conjured a stretcher that she placed Juniper on and ran up to the Hospital wing of the castle.

The second she had left all the students panicked and Headmaster Dippet slammed the great hall doors with a flick of his wand.

"No one is leaving the Great Hall at this moment. You will all be staying here for the night."

With that, he moved the tables aside and brought up some gray sleeping bags and pillows.

The entire school quickly grabbed a sleeping bag and pillow and found a place to be with friends.

Minerva and Albus found a corner and placed their supplies down. They overheard Junipers friend who had thought she was missing a few months ago crying.  
>"Who was it?" Minerva asked Albus.<p>

He only looked up clearly worried about something.

"Albus what's wrong? You know you can tell-," She was cut off because Albus had kissed her.


	4. Chapter 4

Memories CHP. 4

Albus had kissed her. It was like nothing Minerva had ever felt before. She felt as if she were floating on a cloud. Her eyes were shut, but she could taste peppermint and licorice. It was amazing.

She suddenly realized where she was and pulled away her face tomato red.

"Albus. Wow. I- um- I-," Minerva stuttered.

Headmaster Dippet who had magically magnified his voice cut her off.

"I would like to announce at this time that Juniper Skye is fine, though unconscious. She is being taken care of in the Hospital Wing by Madame Gunning. Security will be taken up a notch. You will all report to the Great Hall by seven o'clock each night or you will risk having to sleep elsewhere. Your house heads will have a list of who is in their house. If you do not report to them when you get to the Great Hall we will have to assume the worst."

All the students were staring at the Headmaster silently wishing that they could be at home. Many of the students were frightened for their lives, though Minerva and Albus were feeling a sense of calm. They knew that they would be fine as long as they stayed together.

"Minerva," Albus whispered a few hours later. "I think we're the only ones still awake. We should go investigate."

Minerva smiled and nodded. Just as they were about to get up, the doors to the Great Hall creaked open. Minerva and Albus quickly put their heads on their pillows and pretended to be asleep.

Sneaking a quick look, Minerva opened her eyes a bit to find herself face-to-face with an unknown witch. She felt her heart rate pick up though she pretended to be asleep. The witch started to pick her up and Minerva screamed as loudly as she could waking up half of the Great Hall.

Albus jumped up and tried to get the witch to let Minerva go, but she already had and was making her escape out into the corridor.

Minerva was visibly shaken and had turned a nasty shade of greenish-white. Albus moved over to her and sat with her for a while comforting her.

Professor Tarrows ran over with a few of the other Professors and asked her a tirade of questions.

"Who was it? Did you see them?" Professor Hollow started.

"What did they look like?" Professor Tarrows quickly followed.

"Were they a wizard or a witch?" Professor Sillius asked.

At that point Minerva started crying and turned to Albus who let her cry on his shoulder.

The professors just stared as if they had never dealt with a crying girl before a look of shock clearly written on their faces. They hadn't expected Minerva, one of the smartest witches, to break down like she had.

Professor Hollow placed her hand gently on Minerva's shoulder and tried to comfort her.

"Minerva, I know you must be terrified right now, but we need you to be an adult now and tell us what you know. You'll be fine. I promise."

Minerva finally quieted down after a few minutes and looked at the Professors through her red puffy eyes.

"I was awake and I sensed that someone was right by me so I opened my eyes a bit. There was a witch standing right in front of me just staring. It was creepy. I didn't really see who it was. She started to pick me up so I screamed because I didn't want to be like Juniper. Albus jumped up and tried to help me, so the witch ran out of the doors and into the corridor. That's all that happened."

The Professors looked at Minerva and then to Albus.

"Albus," Professor Tarrows asked. "Did you see Minerva get attacked?"

Albus nodded his head and said nothing else.

"Are you sure it was a woman and not a man?"

Albus merely nodded again and turned to go back to his sleeping bag.

"That's all we need to know." The professors then turned and left.

The next month was free of any more attacks though the Professors were overly protective of their students especially Minerva.

"You know Albus," Minerva had said one day. "I really hate being followed everywhere by a teacher. It's the most annoying and degrading thing in the world. What are you doing this Christmas break?" she looked around before adding, "because if we stayed, we could try and find the person who's terrorizing us."

"I was actually planning to stay here for the break. I know that because of the recent terrors that not many people will be here so we could have the entire castle to ourselves." Albus replied

"It sounds like a plan then." Minerva smiled at Albus and they walked together down to the dungeons for Potions.

The weeks leading up to Christmas break were the most uneventful that anyone at Hogwarts had ever experienced. There were no more break ins, attacks, and even the headless hunt had stopped galloping around the castle like they always did. The mood of the castle had become depressed.

It was not until the day before the break that the castle became more pleasant. Almost all of the students had packed and were going home for the holidays. The entire Gryffindor house was packed and ready to leave as soon as they could. That is, everyone except Minerva and Albus.

While everyone was packing at the last minute, Minerva and Albus were sitting in the corner of the common room planning what they were going to do. Thinking hard, they decided that some likely places where this person would be would be up in the Astronomy Tower, the Dungeons, or the Forbidden Forest.

They were both praying that it wasn't that last of their choices because if it were, they would most likely be killed trying to find the mysterious witch that had committed the crimes at Hogwarts.

Orpha Rosier had been watching the two Gryffindor students. She saw what they were planning and knew that she should confront them. She wouldn't hurt them…much. Those were the two students that were staying at the castle over the break. Only one teacher had decided to stay as well, Professor Hollow. Orpha knew that Hollow wouldn't stand in the way when it came to getting what she wanted. Henrietta Hollow was her sister.

Albus and Minerva were practically alone that holiday. There was nobody else at the castle besides Professor Hollow and she seemed happy enough to be there. The second night in, Minerva and Albus went up to the Astronomy Tower to check and see if this mysterious witch was there.

They had been looking for about a half hour before Minerva stumbled upon a note that she knew hadn't been there before.

"Albus! I found a note!" she had excitedly called over to him.

He ran over just as Minerva was opening the note. It read:

Dear Minerva and Albus,

Yes, I know your names. I know what you have been doing, and I applaud you for your bravery. I feel that it is only fair to tell you that you will not win. I know what you are doing at almost every point in the day. If you try to tell anyone, I will kill you both very slowly. If you would like to meet me, come to the edge of the Forbidden Forest at midnight tomorrow. MAKE SURE YOU ARE NOT SEEN. If you try to tip anyone off, I will know. Don't try anything silly now.

Sincerely,

O.R.

Both Albus and Minerva stood for a moment both just staring at the letter, a look of confusion and terror mixed on their faces.

"Minerva, I have no idea what to do about this or who this O.R. person is. What if she's a dark witch that the Aurors are looking for? I'm not sure we should go. I'm really worried Minerva."

"Albus…worried? I didn't think that those two words could be combined into one sentence." She smirked at him. "We have to go, Juniper and I got attacked by her. We could save the rest of the school by going and confronting her."

She walked closer to Albus and hugged him. She felt him hug her too. It was a cold December night and it had started lightly snowing. It was perfect.


	5. Chapter 5

(I'm so sorry that this took so long to publish. I got REALLY side tracked and I'm so sorry.)

* * *

><p>The next day went by without any problems. When the school was empty, it was a whole different place. Minerva and Albus weren't worried about looking suspicious or anything of that nature because no one was there.<p>

As the sun set, though, Albus started having second thoughts.

"Do you really think we should talk to this O.R. person what happens if she kills us once we get to the Forest?"

"Oh, Albus," Minerva smirked. "You are absolutely ridiculous. I don't think she'll kill us. She knows our names. She'd have killed us by now if she really wanted us dead. I think she might want our help with finding the stone."

"And we're just going to help her? She's a murderer! She killed our friend and our teacher, not to mention she tried to kill you!"

At this point, Albus had raised his voice and it was attracting attention from a few of the ghosts around them.

"Why all the fuss?" A young woman who looked as though she had been stabbed in the chest called from down the hall. "It's a holiday. People are trying to sleep. You two should be in bed as well. You're lucky I don't call the headmaster."

The duo blushed a light pinkish color and muttered that they wouldn't cause any more trouble. The specter, satisfied with their answers, floated through a wall and into another corridor.

They still had a few hours before they were to go meet the mysterious O.R. and continued to walk around the castle for the remaining hours.

It was 30 minutes until they were to go meet the murderer and Albus and Minerva were quarreling over whether or not to meet the murderer.

"I think it's a bad idea. I have a very bad feeling about this." Albus started to sputter out.

Minerva turned toward him and glared at him. "Albus Percival Wufric Brian Dumbledore. I honestly don't think this is a good idea either, but I don't think anything bad will come from it. I don't think we'll die. I think that by doing this we'll be able to gain information as to who this person is and who they'll go after next. I think that this is the only way to figure this out."

Albus looked at her a moment and bowed his head in resignation, "Lead the way."

The sky that night was dark and the moon nonexistent as they treaded the turf to the edge of the forest. Their wands glowed from a lumos charm they had both cast. They reached the edge of the forest only moments before they heard the clock strike midnight. They stared into the forest, though they couldn't see anyone.

They waited for five minutes before they started to consider turning back.

Suddenly a twig snapping caught their attention.

"Albus," Minerva trembled. "W-w-what was that?"

Albus took a step forward. "Who is it? Reveal yourself." His voice was level, though he was shaking.

From out of the shadows a cloaked figure appeared. Though the facial features couldn't be seen, they both knew that this was O.R.

Albus took a step back and threw an arm back to protect Minerva.

The cloaked figure put up an arm and gestured for them to follow her into the forest.

The pair looked at each other as the cloaked O.R. retreated and followed her into the forest.


End file.
